Reincarnation
by LucklessMallory
Summary: When Gaara finds a small cat shivering in the rain, he brings it home  without question. When the harmless kitten turns into a man with ears  and a tail, how will the redhead react? And WHY does Lee insist on rubbing up  against Gaara in the nude? Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

The first chapter of my very first Naruto AU! Yays! Please review, and thanks for reading! This goes out to my friend Ellen (moofeeler). Happy Birthday!

* * *

Gaara sighed and sat back on the couch in Naruto's living room, covering his mouth to hide a wide yawn as he did. He hadn't been able to sleep last night, _again._ That was the third sleepless night in a row.

Gaara kept a sharp eye on Naruto across the room, but luckily the blonde's eyes were glued to his computer screen. If he caught Gaara yawning again, he'd know that the insomniac wasn't getting any sleep, and then he'd force artificial sleep aids down his throat again.

Gaara shuddered at the mere memory of the last time it had happened. Naruto had visited Gaara's apartment well after midnight banging on the door and exclaiming "I knew it! You're still awake!"

Even if Gaara hadn't been awake, that would have woken him fairly quickly. As it was, he'd been lounging on the couch, very bored, and watching late night television. There were only reruns of lame, out of date sitcoms that his grandparents would probably recognize. He'd answered the door with a scowl and a few irritable comments about Naruto waking the neighbors.

Naruto had all but shoved the redhead into bed and force fed him sleep aids, ranting all the while about his friends never bothering to take care of themselves. Naruto was the only person that Gaara would allow to push him around like this, aside from his sister on occasion.

The pills hadn't helped. Yes, they'd made Gaara rest, but his mind was completely aware the entire night. The only thing the sleep aids had done was make his body too tired to move, no matter how alert his brain was. It made him feel helpless, like being buried alive or strapped down with heavy chains. He would _not_ be doing that again.

"Hey, Gaara! Check this one out!" Naruto called eagerly, swiveling in his seat to grin at his friend. Gaara stood up with a sigh, humoring the blonde as usual. Naruto had been obsessively surfing the internet for the past several days after discovering something called 'lolcats'. He thought the little comics were the funniest things since late night comedy.

Gaara leaned over Naruto's shoulder, raising an invisible brow at the several used ramen cups that littered the desk, before moving his eyes to the screen. In the center of the monitor was a picture of a very sad looking cat with the caption "You eated mah cookeh?" underneath. Gaara glanced down at Naruto's eager expression before sighing and walking towards the entryway of the apartment.

"Oh, come on! That was funny! _And_ cute! You don't have to walk out on me!" Naruto cried indignantly, swiveling around in his chair to follow the redhead with his eyes.

"I have to head home anyway, it's getting late." Gaara explained as he slipped on his shoes and pulled his coat down from the rack. "However, next time I come over, I'd like to do more than look at pictures of cats."

"Like what?" Naruto asked, leaning back and arching a blonde eyebrow, as if he really couldn't imagine wanting to spend his time doing anything else.

"I don't know." Gaara said, rolling his eyes at his friend. "Watch a movie or something."

"Oh! They have videos on the 'ICanHasCheezeBurger' website!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, already turning back to his computer to look it up.

"Never mind." Gaara said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes as Naruto pouted at him.

"Just take a look at one more before you leave!" Naruto insisted. Gaara walked forward reluctantly to humor his friend for the umpteenth time that night.

This time there was a picture of a cat stretching with all its claws out. The caption read "I givez u ten reasons y iz NOT bathtime". Naruto eagerly looked back at Gaara's face, obviously hoping to incite a laugh or at least a snort from his friend.

"If cats were really smart enough to talk, why does everyone assume that they would have bad grammar?" Gaara asked, making Naruto groan melodramatically as he turned back to the screen.

"You're missing the point! It's supposed to be cute!"

"Cats are supposed to be smart. It doesn't make sense that they'd talk like that."

"Oh, go home already. Get some sleep for once, you hopeless noob." Naruto teased. Gaara left without any further prompting.

* * *

"Dammit," Gaara mumbled as he stepped out of the 7-11. It was raining so hard, he could barely see two feet in front of his face. And of course he left his umbrella at home.

Gaara stumbled awkwardly toward where his car was parked, squinting as he walked. It only took him a couple minutes to find his vehicle, but he was already half soaked by the time he'd managed to wrestle his keys out of his pocket without dropping any of his late night snacks. The rain was _freezing_, unpleasant, and his hair felt like it was plastered to his skin. He could distantly hear the sound of cars passing by the parking lot on the road over the sound of the loud, thrumming rain.

Gaara opened the door with a harsh yank when he finally managed to make the key work. He slid inside and tossed his snacks onto the passenger seat before turning to close the door behind him. He paused there as he heard something other than the pounding of the rain.

It sounded like… crying? Like a woman or a child crying. An alarm sounded through Gaara's head and he quickly stepped back out into the rain, swiveling his head around to search for the victim. The rain drenched him through his light coat, raising goose bumps on his skin. He paused and listened more intently as he realized that it sounded _very_ close. He hesitated briefly before bending down and looking under his small car.

There, trembling violently and mewling loud enough to burst eardrums, was a very wet black cat. Its eyes were unnaturally wide, with lashes too long for any animal. Its fur was so black that Gaara almost didn't see him right away, plastered against its skin, and shiny in what little light reached under the car. It mewled even louder as it met Gaara's green eyes with its own ebony pair. Its irises were almost as dark as its fur.

Gaara frowned at the cat unhappily. It looked absolutely pitiful. The sad little creature had no collar, so it was probably a stray. It was just hiding under the car to get out of the rain.

"You need to move before I pull the car out. I don't want to run you over." Gaara informed the cat irritably. It perked its little ears at him and stopped mewling at the sound of his voice.

"So… move. Before I make you." Gaara ordered, not really expecting the cat to understand. Mewling softly, the creature inched toward the redhead on his hunches, his wide eyes rapt on Gaara's face. Gaara raised an eyebrow at it, before reaching slowly under the car. The cat's eyes zeroed in on his hand as it leaned away, its ears flattening unhappily. It started yowling again in warning, but didn't bolt.

"Hush, I'm not going to harm you." Gaara scolded. It didn't go completely silent, but it quieted to a pitiful mewl. Gaara hesitated with his hand an inch away, making sure it wasn't going to bite or scratch him before he clutched it firmly by the scruff of its neck and pulled it closer. It followed Gaara's lead with minimal resistance, until the little creature was curled up against the redhead's chest.

Gaara frowned down at it, and it returned his stare with miserable eyes. Its little body was still shaking as it snuggled subtly closer to the man's warmth. Gaara hadn't meant to cradle the thing against him. He'd only wanted to move it out from underneath his car. He turned around, still kneeling as he tried to pry the little thing's claws out of his coat to set it on the sidewalk.

It wouldn't let go.

"Retract your claws." Gaara ordered irritably as he attempted to pry the little creature from his chest. "Let go, I need to set you down."

The cat mewled pitifully before leaning forward to lick Gaara's prying fingers with a warm, rough tongue. Its eyes were wide as it gazed up at the irritated redhead hopefully.

"That's not going to earn you any points." Gaara muttered. Despite the annoyed note to his voice, he stopped trying to unlatch the cat's claws and stood back up. He sat down in his car and shut the door firmly behind him, glad to finally be out of the freezing rain. It was still cold in his car, but at least he wasn't being pelted with buckets of melted ice water. Gaara quickly started his car and cranked up the heat. He paused and looked down at the furry bundle in his arms with a sigh.

The little black cat was curled up and perfectly at home against Gaara's chest. Its large eyes were closed, its claws finally retracted, and it looked half asleep. It was unusually tame for a stray. It hadn't even scratched him when he'd pulled it closer by the scruff. It was probably a lost pet without a collar. He wondered if it was micro chipped.

"I'll take you to the pound tomorrow." Gaara informed it as he unzipped his coat and tucked the shivering creature closer. It mewled pitifully, rubbing its cheek against his chest and huddled into his warmth.

* * *

Gaara stepped awkwardly through his apartment door, juggling his groceries in his arms, keys in his hand, and the black cat in his coat. He kicked the door closed behind him and headed to the kitchen.

Gaara dropped his bags unceremoniously onto the table in the middle of his kitchen. The walls of the whole apartment were bare, without pictures or paintings for decoration. The furniture was scarce, with only the bare minimum in each room. He'd been living here for over three years, but it still looked like he'd just moved in.

Gaara could feel the cat wriggling around inside his coat, searching for an opening it could climb out of. When it couldn't find one right away, it began to yowl miserably. Gaara winced as the cat tried climbing to his neckline, poking him sharply with its claws.

"Stop that, I'm letting you out." Gaara scolded, holding the small body against his chest as he pulled his zipper down. The little black head popped out first, revealing large eyes that roved around the small room of the apartment. Its pupils were perfectly round and its ears were perked to attention. Gaara leaned down and sat it on the linoleum floor so that he could have his hands free, but kept a sharp eye on it to be sure it wasn't about to have an 'accident' in his kitchen. It began to lick at its damp fur immediately, grooming away the wetness from all angles with a flexibility that only felines were entitled to. As it began to dry, the sheer mass of the little creatures body seemed to double in size as its fur fluffed up. Gaara watched it at work for a moment before he became bored and moved on.

Gaara stepped over the little creature and proceeded to put his snacks away on the appropriate shelves, leaving out a large bag of cheetos for him to munch on tonight. The cat sat under the table, watching Gaara with an interested gaze as he worked. It followed close at his heels when Gaara went into his bedroom to shed his wet clothes and slip into loose sweatpants and a tee shirt. He ignored the little creature's eyes on him as he changed, though he felt a shiver up his spine at being seen undressed. He knew he shouldn't care if a brainless animal saw him naked, but there was something about this black furred cat that struck him as being overtly… _intelligent._ Almost human. It was creepy.

Gaara was about to grab his cheetos and watch late night television in the living room when he paused to consider the cat. He looked down at where the thing was sitting in the doorway to his bedroom with speculative eyes, wondering when the last time it had eaten was. It was difficult to tell with all that fur fluffed up, but it _had_ felt pretty light when he'd held it.

"Cats like milk, right?" he wondered out loud. He was answered by a mewl of approval. Gaara nodded to himself silently as he went back to the kitchen to get out a bowl and the milk jug. He had to dig to the back of his fridge before he could find it, and then headed over to the cupboards above the sink. He pulled down a shallow bowl and carried it all into his sparse living room.

Gaara plopped down on the couch, the only place to sit in the small room, aside from the floor. He picked up the remote from the otherwise bare coffee table in front of him and switched on the television, more for the background noise than for something to watch. Large, dark eyes watched him from the floor, following his hands as the pored milk into the bowl and set in on the ground. He made sure that he could see the cat at all times, not yet trusting the little thing alone in his apartment. It immediately began to lap at the milk, offering its thanks with a loud purring that almost drowned out the sound of the TV.

The insomniac let his mind wander as he stared blankly at the television screen, popping cheetos into his mouth at random. After a while, the sound of the cat lapping at the milk, purring, the noise from the TV, and the images on the screen all began to blur together. Gaara closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to let himself drift into unconsciousness.

"There's a reason I don't sleep, you know." Gaara spoke out loud randomly, startling himself as he heard his own voice. He blinked a couple times before looking down and meeting deep black eyes.

"Why else would I still be awake right now? It's past one in the morning." Gaara continued, only now realizing that he was talking to the cat, and not just thin air. Said cat mewed softly at him and stalked forward, abandoning its half drained milk bowl. Its ears were perked, listening intently to Gaara voice and watching him with large eyes, almost as if it understood what he was saying and was trying to be polite.

"I had night terrors constantly as a kid. Every time I'd close my eyes and try to rest, I'd see demons and monsters and horrible things. No child should have to go through that. Most of the neighbors could hear me screaming at night, and some even thought I was possessed." Gaara looked away from the cat eyes riveted on him. He stared blankly at the flickering screen, absorbing only the colors and not really seeing anything specific.

The redhead jolted slightly as he felt a small, fluffy weight land on his lap. He blinked blankly at the cat as it rubbed itself soothingly against his chest, purring as if in an effort to comfort. Gaara frowned, but didn't move to touch the little thing. It weighed almost nothing, and its little paws were gentle on his lap.

Gaara hesitated for a moment before lifting his hand toward the feline. He paused again for just a second as it sat down and looked up at him expectantly. Carefully, barely touching, he petted the cuddly little thing from its head to its tail, eliciting a pleasant purr for his efforts. It arched its back into his hand, prompting him to continue. He stroked it again, a little more confidently than before. Gaara wasn't used to touching people, much less animals. He was finding it to be a soothing experience, especially when the little thing would rub back against him purring like mad and even beginning to lick his fingers when he held still enough.

"I don't have nightmares nearly as often anymore," He informed the cat softly. He scratched lightly behind its ear and on the top of its head with his fingertips like he'd seen other people do. Its body was warm like fresh bath water, and its fur was like silk threads in his hands. "So I really shouldn't fear sleep. It's not that, though. After the worst of the night terrors faded away, I started an even worse habit. I sleepwalk. It can be dangerous."

The cat mewed softly in sympathy, rubbing its cheeks against Gaara's stroking fingers and looking up at him with gentle eyes. Gaara sighed and leaned in closer, looking it up in down in thought. The cat's fur was slightly rumpled now, but still fluffy and inviting. Gaara never talked to anyone about _why_ he couldn't sleep at night. He didn't talk to people in general, if he could help it. Even Naruto had learned ages ago that being Gaara's friend meant enduring long silences and being answered in monosyllables. Now was the first time in years he'd openly spoke about something so personal, and he was talking to a cat. He hardly appreciated the irony.

"Cats don't have problems with sleep, though, do they?" He continued rhetorically, lifting the little thing off his lap before it could get too comfortable. It let out a disgruntled mew as he set it on the cushion next to him, obviously not wanting to abandon its perch on his lap. Gaara leaned forward so that he was on eye level with it. It sat down and looked back at him steadily, its fluffy tail flicking silently behind its back. "You guys sleep for half the day, minimum. Or so I've heard. I wonder if that's just a myth."

Gaara's eyes widened minutely as the cat leaned forward and nuzzled the insomniac's face, rubbing their cheeks together and even scrubbing his jaw with its rough tongue. Its nose was cold and wet, but Gaara didn't pull away. He almost started to purr in return, liking the affection he was receiving.

"Maybe I won't take you to the pound." Gaara mused, more to himself than the cat now. "If you did have a previous owner, they were irresponsible to lose you without a collar. You shouldn't miss them. Maybe I'll keep you."

Feeling unusually affectionate tonight, Gaara felt an unfamiliar impulse sneak up on him. He frowned for a second in thought, before giving in to his rare little desire. Moving slowly, he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the feline's little pink nose.

"_Thank you_."

Gaara jolted back as he heard a strong, male voice in the apartment with him. His head darted around wildly while he searched for the intruder. There was no one in sight… he glanced back to the cat, doing a double take with wide eyes. The little creature was growing fast, doubling in size within seconds. The thick, fluffy fur that covered its body was receding back into its skin. Its miniscule, furry muzzle withdrew back into its face. Its whiskers retracted, and the hair on its head grew longer. Its limbs extended, its neck lengthened, its body grew larger and larger, until it was obviously not a cat anymore. Sitting on Gaara's couch, was a naked man.

Gaara leapt from his seat, eyes wide and alarmed as he watched the stranger. The man seemed tall, even while sitting. His skin was tan like leather in the way that can only be achieved by standing under the sun for hours. His eyes were abnormally rounded, with dark irises that vaguely reminded Gaara of a starless sky. His pupils were vertically slit like a cat's, making his whole face transform into something raw and animalistic. His lashes were long like a girl's, framing his eyes like a picture. His bright teeth were visible as he smiled, incisors flashing on either side of his mouth. His hair was dark black, and shined in the flickering light of the television. And on his head was… a large pair of perky, black cat ears.

"What the… hell?" Gaara mumbled, confusion and alarm coloring his deep voice. The man on the couch smiled wider at him. His incisors flashed even brighter, making Gaara take a cautious step backward. The redhead wasn't frightened easily, even now, but some things were strange enough to make even the bravest men cower for a few brief seconds. Things such as naked were-cats in his living room. That was definitely worth being concerned about.

The thought of having a naked person in his home, even if it was a potentially dangerous shape shifter, made Gaara's eyes trail down to the man's uncovered groin. Definitely male, and well endowed at that. He mentally shook himself and wrenched his eyes away as soon as he realized what he was doing. He forced himself to watch the man's face, and winced as he locked eyes with somewhat intimidating slit pupils.

"Thank you for helping me out of the rain. I am grateful for your hospitality." The man's voice wasn't quite as deep as Gaara's, but it still held a notable tone of masculinity. His eyes suddenly became hopeful and pleading as he spoke. His tone was eager and excited. "Do you really think you would let me stay? Will you keep me?"

"I haven't decided anything, yet." Gaara stated, pleased that his voice was steady, despite the small amount of residential shock he was feeling. "I don't even know you."

The man pouted pitifully, his cat ears visibly wilting. His eyes became watery, and his lip protruded. He looked like he might actually cry.

"You did not know me before, either, but you said you might keep me." He voice took on a pleading edge, and his large eyes glistened in a way that would have brought a lesser man to his knees, slitted pupils or no. "What has changed?"

"I thought you were a cat." Gaara stated obviously, not the least bit bothered by the man's potential tears. "If I'd known that you were a nudist hybrid, I wouldn't have brought you into my apartment."

"But… I am a cat…" the man mumbled, his ears wilting even lower, nearly disappearing into his fluffy bowl cut hair style.

"No, you are a man, and you are naked on my couch. Get out before I call the police." Or an exorcist, Gaara mentally added, wondering if that was who you were supposed to call in a situation like this. The tiny kitten he'd rescued from the rain had _morphed_ into a large, clawed cat-man. Weren't you supposed to call someone spiritual to deal with these things when they got out of hand?

Gaara nearly flinched as the cat-man let out a pitiful whine that sounded eerily like the mewls that Gaara had heard coming from under his car earlier that night. It was a miserable, abandoned sound that made Gaara hesitate for just a moment. The cat man's eyes glistened pitifully, and his body seemed to slump in on itself dejectedly, like he'd already given up. His ears hung low and wilted, and Gaara noticed a long, black tail sweep around from behind to wrap around the man's waist almost protectively.

"I am sorry." The man murmured, beginning to snuffle as he spoke. "When you said that you might keep me, I got my hopes up. I thought you were serious. I will… I will go now. I will not bother you again. Thank you for the milk."

Gaara frowned and stepped back even further as the man stood from the couch and started walking towards the door. Gaara frowned unhappily as he realized that the cat man was a couple inches taller than him. Gaara leaned his head to the side, staring blatantly at the tail as the man walked away, noting how it flicked and swayed, furred in a perfect triangle from the small of the man's back to a smooth extension of the man's spine. The cat man paused as he passed the coffee table before turning and bending down to pick up the milk bowl from where Gaara had left it on the floor for him. Gaara's eyes widened in shock and his cheeks tinged pink at the _very_ intimate view the man had just revealed from beneath his tail. The cat man continued to the kitchen, his stance slouched and his ears drooping as he placed the dish carefully in the sink and started walking for the front door. He didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable blatantly walking around in his birthday suit.

The man hesitated in front of the apartment door, turning to look back at Gaara with teary eyes. His tail drooped as he met the redhead's gaze, and he quickly averted his gaze.

"Thank you again." he murmured softly, turning back toward the door. "Good luck with your sleeping."

"Where are you going?" Gaara asked, his voice flat and inflectionless. The jolted at the sound, but kept his head down and his eyes submissively averted.

"I do not know. Somewhere out of the rain, I suppose."

"Name?"

"My… my name?" the man replied, looking confused. "My name is Lee."

"Lee." Gaara stated, as if he'd used the name a million times before. "Stay there and hold still."

Lee's furry brows creased, his ears twitching and his pupils widening as he watched Gaara approach with cautious steps. Gaara didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know if this was real, or if he was having a _very_ vivid dream. But there was something that was driving him insane with curiosity.

Gaara stopped when he was well within the man's personal space, examining him with seemingly apathetic eyes. Lee's body quivered minutely under the redhead's gaze. Gaara reached up with one hand slowly, touching the man's dark bangs with tentative fingers. Lee held still, and his pupils rounded even more, no longer intimidating slits. Gaara slid his fingers up the man's head, noting the fluffy quality to Lee's hair. It felt just like his cat fur. Gaara paused as his fingertips brushed the base of the man's ears before he began to rub them like he'd done on the couch.

Lee's cat ears were _definitely_ real. They were warm like any skin, furry, and twitched in Gaara's hands. Gaara examined them with his eyes as he ran his hands across them, feeling the way they seamlessly melded into the side of the man's head.

Lee closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, relaxing and beginning to purr in a feline way. His lips pulled up in a soft smile, and his tail flicked from behind him in satisfied brushes across both their legs.

"You'll take the couch tonight. I'll find you something to wear that will accommodate the tail. No promises for the future, but you can stay for the night." Gaara decided out loud, his voice almost apathetic in tone, but still firm. Lee's eyes popped open and his loose ears perked tall on his head.

"Really? You mean it? I can stay?" he asked eagerly, his voice excited and his tail swishing faster.

"I only said for toni-" Gaara started, but cut off with a sharp gasp and shocked eyes as Lee leaned forward and pressed himself against Gaara's form, rubbing his cheeks against the redhead's shoulders and purring like a motor. Gaara flushed as he realized just how much bare skin was pressed against him right now. The man was still naked, after all.

"Thank you so much!" Lee exclaimed happily, clutching at Gaara's shirt front with the tips of his clawed fingers. Gaara held completely still, not sure how he should react. Lee continued to rub happily against him, oblivious to Gaara's uncertain demeanor. Finally, after much nuzzling, purring, and rubbing on Lee's part, Gaara pulled back.

"Go to the living room. I'll find you some clothes. Get your milk on the way, you haven't finished it, yet." Gaara instructed gruffly, motioning where Lee should go. The cat man obeyed right away, padding toward where he'd left the half drained bowl with light feet.

Gaara watched the man reenter his kitchen, raising an eyebrow and being unable to help a peak at Lee's naked ass. His tail swished and flicked across either round globe, curling around his thighs when he stopped.

Clothes, Gaara reminded himself. He tore his eyes away from the excessive amount of bare skin on his new roommate as Lee began to drink thirstily from his bowl with both hands. Gaara started toward his bedroom, mentally running through his wardrobe for things that wouldn't get in the way of a tail.

Just what the hell had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Thanks for reading! Please remember to review! Just so you know, I won't be able to update this nearly as often as I'd like, because Creating Memories is my top priority. I'm sure if you leave me reviews, first, I'll be more eager to continue. (wink)


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** So, I guess this story isn't totally dead. ^ ^ ; Just, um, slow? Very, _very_ slow.

* * *

"Gaara, you need to go to get up soon! If you do not hurry, you will not have time for breakfast before class starts!"

The insomniac groaned and rolled over in his bed, grabbing the nearest pillow and tugging it harshly over his head to ward off the annoyingly chipper sounds of a certain cat. It was too early in the morning for this. This was the third morning in a row that Lee had woken him, either begging him to get up or begging him for food. Often both. Gaara may not sleep often, but he could still be tired and grumpy in the mornings before he had to get up and face the day.

"Gaaraaaaaa! Please get up? Will you make eggs again, today? I really liked those. And can you get me a glass of milk down? Please? Gaara? Please?" Lee whined, kneeling beside the insomniac's bed. His tail flicked eagerly to and fro, and his ears were perked high and excited on his head.

Gaara glared out from under his pillow, observing the overtly energetic cat beside his bed. This would be the third day since he'd first taken Lee into his apartment. The night he'd found the cat under his car had been on a Friday, and today was Monday. This was one of the aspects of having a pet/roommate that he was not enjoying.

He'd mostly stayed in the apartment for the weekend, as he usually would have done. He finished some homework that he'd been procrastinating, read a little bit, and spent a lot of time with Lee. Gaara had only meant to keep him for the first night before taking him… somewhere else. He honestly wasn't sure if he should take him to the pound, the zoo, or the exorcist after all. Instead, he'd simply gone about his usual routine, and tried to ignore the cat altogether.

That hadn't worked.

Lee was like a natural disaster, both in spirit and in his actions. If nothing else, Gaara knew that Lee hadn't had any experience in his human form before he met Gaara, because he was so damn clumsy. It was like he was a two year old in a grown man's body. He could walk on two feet for a few minutes at a time, but any more than that and he would start to trip or lose his balance, like he couldn't quite remember the way to use two feet instead of four. He could clutch things in his hands, but he was struggling to get used to his opposable thumbs. He would either grip something too hard or too lightly, and it was a struggle for him to find middle ground. Having claws on his fingertips didn't make things any easier, either. As a result, Gaara had banned him from using the majority of the kitchen utensils without supervision, including glasses and anything sharp.

Lee's attitude to everything around him was energetic, mischievous, and optimistic. He was almost obnoxiously curious about everything around him, and was constantly peppering Gaara with questions. The redhead would answer them all in short monosyllables that never seemed to satisfy the wide eyed cat man. When Lee wasn't following Gaara around the apartment, he was inspecting the place for himself, climbing on anything that could hold his weight, and making several messes in the process. Gaara hadn't thought that keeping things tidy would be a problem, since he had so few material items lying around, but Lee always seemed to find a way to drag out what Gaara did have.

Overall, it made the cat very impossible to ignore.

"Gaara?" Lee whined again. When Gaara still didn't move, Lee crawled up onto the bed next to him. He purred low and happy as he rubbed his cheeks against the lump of Gaara's body through the blankets. His tail flicked and brushed against Gaara's legs as the cat rubbed himself against the redhead.

Gaara squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip, tensing as he tried to fight his body's automatic reaction to all this attention. That was another surprise that Lee had been bombarding him with over the past two days. The cat hated wearing clothes, and today was no exception. He was also a very touchy creature, intent on rubbing against Gaara to show affection at every opportunity, curling up against him on the couch while the redhead tried to watch television, sneaking into his bed with him at night to curl up on the pillows, and he'd even tried to give Gaara a tongue bath once.

Even if Gaara weren't already gay, that much attention from another person might have converted him. How else was he supposed to respond to a warm, naked body constantly rubbing and cuddling against him in the privacy of his own house? Gaara was not a virgin, but even his previous lovers hadn't touched him as often or in the same ways as Lee. The experience was disconcerting, erotic, nerve wracking, and downright wicked. To this moment, he'd barely managed to keep himself from making a move on Lee, because it was clear that the cat was innocently oblivious to what he was doing. That, and Gaara wasn't entirely sure if it would have been considered bestiality.

"Lee, put some clothes on." Gaara grumbled, hiding his face under the pillow again. "Where's that shirt I gave you?"

"It is around here somewhere." Lee mumbled, poorly attempting to be evasive. His ears flicked back and forth on his head, giving away his cagey response.

"Put it on." Gaara ordered shortly, his words muffled from under the pillow.

"But I do not like that shirt!"

"Then get a different one. They're in the dresser." Gaara growled softly, rolling onto his side with his back to the cat and the pillow over his ear.

Lee grumbled something about being more comfortable _without_ a shirt, and chose to snuggle closer to Gaara's back instead of making his way to the dresser. Gaara sighed and let it go for now, not ready to fight this battle so early in the morning.

"Gaara?" Lee asked after a short moment of silence.

"What?"

"Will you please make eggs again, today?"

"…yes."

"Thank you!" Lee exclaimed happily, leaping off the bed with more energy than anyone should be allowed before nine AM. Gaara sighed in defeat and steeled himself to face the day.

* * *

"Lee, use your fork."

The cat frowned down at the offensive strip of metal beside his plate, his ears flickering in irritation. The piece of egg between his thumb and forefingers fell back onto his plate. Gaara held out a napkin across the table for his 'pet' to take.

"I still cannot use that." Lee murmured mournfully, staring at the fork with accusing eyes.

"Keep trying." Gaara ordered, before shoveling his own eggs into his mouth. Lee watched him take a few bites before gingerly lifting his own silverware.

"Why do people use forks?"

"It's polite."

"Do I have to be polite?"

"Not always."

"Then may I skip the fork this time?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because."

Gaara looked up as a loud knocking sounded from the front door. Lee's ears perked and his tail lifted in interest.

"What was that?" Lee asked, dropping his fork and starting to stand.

"Someone's at the door. Stay here. Finish your eggs." Gaara stood and wiped his mouth quickly before walking to answer the door. Lee ducked and angled his body so that Gaara wouldn't see him use his hands to eat the rest of his breakfast, his feline eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Good morning, Mr. Subaku!"

Gaara flinched and squinted as he was blinded by a massive smile. Towering freakishly tall above him was his eccentric neighbor from down the hall, Might Gai. The man was dressed in his standard green track suit, beaming with overabundant 'youthful' energy.

"I was hoping I could borrow some flour this morning." Gai said, holding out a large measuring cup. "I am making power dumplings!"

Gaara vividly recalled what power dumplings were, and blanched in distaste. When Gaara had first moved into his apartment, Gai had brought over a plate full of power dumplings as a welcome gift. They were the single most disgusting thing Gaara had ever had the displeasure of tasting, even if they had made him feel energetic after only one bite.

"I have some flour. How much do you need?" As long as he didn't have to eat any of Gai's cooking, Gaara had no problem with giving his neighbor some spare flour. He only had any for himself because he had gone through a short cooking phase a few months ago.

"I only need two cups more! May I come in?"

"Sure- oh. Uh…" Gaara frowned as he thought about a certain naked cat-man in his kitchen. He probably shouldn't shock his neighbor like that. However, Gai reclaimed his attention before he could say anything.

"Mr. Subaku? I believe your friend may be in need of pants." Gai was still smiling brightly, but now he had one hand clapped over his eyes and the other was gesturing down the hall. Gaara turned around and sighed loudly.

Lee was standing in the middle of the hallway, unashamedly naked and watching Gai with large, curious eyes. His ears were perked tall on his head, and his posture was tentative. The tip of his tail was raised in a question, and his expression was oddly naïve as he copied Gai's gesture and covered his eyes. He peeked in between his fingers and smiled at Gaara.

"Sorry, Mr. Might. He doesn't like wearing clothes. Come on inside, I'll get him dressed." Gaara ushered his neighbor through the door and turned to herd Lee back into the general direction of the bedroom.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Subaku! I shouldn't have intruded on you and your boyfriend, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I can ask someone else for the flour…?" Gai stayed in the entryway, politely averting his eyes as Lee tried to duck around Gaara to see the newcomer.

"No, no." Gaara said quickly, gripping Lee's shoulders and all but shoving him towards the bedroom. "He's not my boyfriend. Just wait another moment. "

"Why did he call you 'Mr. Subaku'?" Lee asked, looking over his shoulder at the pushing redhead.

"Subaku is my last name." Gaara answered shortly, shoving Lee into the bedroom and moving toward his dresser.

"How many names do you have?"

"A few."

Gaara quickly opened up his dresser and pulled out a long, green robe that he'd only used once. He quickly draped it over Lee's shoulders, showed him where to put his arms, and tied the front. Lee's ears twitched in irritation at having to wear clothing, but he bore Gaara's manhandling without complaint. Gaara strode out of the room to the kitchen so that he could hunt for flour.

There was nothing in the cupboards, but strangely enough he found a large bag under his sink.

"You can come in Mr. Might!" Gaara called out the kitchen door as he hauled the heavy bag onto the kitchen table. He dropped it onto the surface with a loud thump. It was heavier than it looked.

"Thank you Mr. Subaku!" Gai said, placing his large measuring cup on the table next to the sack. The neighbor looked up as Lee entered the room in his green robe, watching the stranger with curious eyes.

"Hello there! And what is your name?" Gai greeted brightly.

"Lee." The cat man answered, starting to smile as his ears flickered on his head and his tail swished beneath his robe.

"It's nice to meet you, Lee! My name is Gai Might." Gai introduced. He smiled cheerfully. If he noticed anything unusual about the cat man, he didn't let it show. "If you are ever in the building again and Gaara is not here to keep you entertained, feel free to come knock on my door. I'm just two doors down the hall, and I am always happy to have visitors!"

Lee remained silently smiling, but nodded to show that he understood. His dark, silted eyes roved up and down the newcomer's frame with avid curiosity in his eyes. He turned to Gaara as the redhead opened the flour bag and filled his neighbor's measuring cup.

"Can we visit with Gai Might when we get back from school?" Lee asked brightly.

"You're not going to school with me." Gaara answered bluntly.

Lee's face immediately fell, his eyes widening and his ears wilting. He looked like a child that had just been told the truth about Santa Claus. His tail stopped swishing under the robe as he leaned toward the redhead.

"But- but- but I wanted to stay with you." Lee protested mournfully, his voice miserable.

"I have a test today, and I won't have time to look after you. I'm sure that you can handle staying home by yourself for the day." Gaara paused and his brow quickly furrowed as he realized the fault with what he'd just said. Lee got into trouble every time Gaara turned his back or didn't pay him enough attention. The cat could get into the fridge and cupboards by himself, but he would probably break more dishes. He didn't know how to use a microwave or the stove either, and Gaara was low on groceries. Not just that, but what if Lee became bored and got into trouble? Dammit, Gaara should have taken him to the pound already instead of putting up with this-

"Gaara needs to focus on his studies. School is of the utmost importance! Why don't you spend the day with me?" Gai flashed a friendly, sparkling grin and a thumbs up.

Gaara turned to his neighbor and stared. Lee's ears perked.

"Yes, I have the whole day free anyhow." Gai continued conversationally as he opened the flour bag. He scooped his measuring cup inside. "I was going to spend the rest of the morning cooking and spend the afternoon training with the equipment in my apartment. I could use some company. What do you say?"

Lee turned wide, questioning eyes to Gaara. The redhead raised a brow and turned back to Gai. "You should know that he needs constant supervision. He makes messes out of everything he touches. He whines when he's hungry and takes naps at random times of the day. He's fickle and talks too much."

The cat flicked an ear at Gaara, but otherwise didn't acknowledge such accusations.

"That is not a problem with me, Mr. Subaku. I could use someone to talk to on my day off, and I'm sure I could keep Lee entertained." Gai rounded off the flour until his cup was as full as he wanted it, and then looked up with a cheesy smile. He extended a brilliant thumbs up, which Lee immediately copied with delight. "I promise to watch over your friend with youthful vigilance and dedication until your safe return after school today!"

Gaara blinked slowly at Gai's thumb and Lee's. He sighed and then shrugged before closing his flour bag and hauling it back to the door under his sink. "Fine. It would definitely be better than leaving him here alone. Lee, go put on the pants we made for you. Grab a shirt, too."

The day after Lee had first arrived Gaara had found a pair of sweatpants that more or less fit the cat man. Because of the difference in their height the pants were a couple inches too short, but Gaara had attempted to make them more comfortable by cutting a crude hole in the back for Lee's tail. He'd only been able to make Lee wear them once before, but now the cat man left the table to get them without complaint. He smiled over his shoulder at the other two as he walked to the bedroom.

A few minutes later Gaara stood at the door with his backpack in tow. Lee was standing in the hall with Gai, wearing his dingy sweatpants and a snug t-shirt. His tail flickered freely about with interest as his slitted pupils examined the bare hall of the apartment building. If Gai noticed anything odd about his new guest, he still didn't show it.

"I'll swing by to get him when I get back from class. If he does anything that seems demonic, please call an exorcist. I've been procrastinating that myself for a while. If not, I'll pick him up." Gaara nodded to his neighbor and cat once and turned to go. "Please do not break anything in Mr. Might's house, Lee. I'd hate to have to pay for damages."

"Yosha! Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Subaku!" Gai called, unnecessarily loud.

"Bye Gaara." Lee called, quieter than Gaara had expected. The looked over his shoulder and gave a halfhearted wave before turning down a new hall and down a flight of stairs. He thought that Lee may have looked a bit sad.

* * *

Gaara winced as he felt something whap the back of his head. He turned and glared at his classmate, raising a brow and touching the spot where Naruto had smacked him. "What's your problem this time?"

"You didn't reply to any of my emails!" Naruto accused, extending his arm and pointing a theatrical finger at his friend. A few of the other students nearby rolled their eyes as they took their seats and prepared their notebooks for the coming lecture. They were used to hearing Naruto's loud voice around campus, and most had learned to tune him out.

"What am I supposed to say in response to a picture of a very fat cat? You didn't even write anything, you just sent me image links." Gaara huffed and pulled out a chair so that his friend could sit at the desk with him this school period.

"They were hilarious pictures! What do you have against cats? They're- OOF!" Naruto yelped as he went to sat down, only to find that Gaara had pulled the chair further back at the last second, making the blonde fall on his ass and sending the papers in his hands flying.

"And _that_ is what you get for smacking me. Trying saying hello when you greet someone next time instead." Gaara declared, keeping a perfectly straight face as he turned back to his books and setting what he didn't need aside.

"Oi! Not cool!"

"Quiet, Mr. Umino just walked in."

Naruto scrambled for his papers, making a messy and crinkled stack while Iruka set his brief case on his desk at the head of the room. The teacher did a brief survey of the classroom to see that most everyone was present, and only frowned at the breathless, messy state Naruto was in as the blonde plopped into his seat and dumped the papers on his workspace. Gaara pulled out last week's notes and casually passed the copy he'd made for Naruto to his friend, receiving a muttered thanks in return.

It was almost disconcerting to be having a normal day so far, after he'd had such an unusual weekend.

* * *

Review! 8 D Please!


	3. Chapter 3

"Last edit 364 days ago by LucklessMallory" ;A;

* * *

Gaara sighed as he unlocked the front door of his apartment and shouldered off his backpack in the entry. Today's lessons hadn't been anything new or unexpected. He'd worked on his studies with Naruto during the periods they shared, and even managed to snag lunch off campus today. He'd answered all questions directed at him in class, and at this point his teachers weren't surprised that he knew all the answers.

_I'm just glad the rain we've been having is gone_, Gaara thought to himself as he set his backpack down on his kitchen table. He pulled out his books and homework folders slowly. He yawned, tired and sluggish. He was going about his usual Monday routine, but he couldn't help feeling that he was forgetting something...?

Gaara dropped his things abruptly with wide eyes and bolted for his front door again. He ran down the hallway of his apartment building and rapped sharply on Gai's door, nervous and edgy on the balls of his feet. Had his whole weekend really been a weird daydream? Did Lee trash any of Gai's things with his clumsy hands and claws? Did Gai call an exorcist after all...?

"Mr. Sabaku!" Gai exclaimed as he pulled open his front door with a wide flourish and a mighty grin. He gestured for Gaara to enter. "Come on inside! We thought you might be arriving home right about now!"

Entering cautiously, Gaara glanced around Gai's apartment, unsurprised at the extensive exercise equipment and motivational posters on the walls. If he remembered correctly, Gai's occupation was something to do with physical therapy, or training of some kind.

"Is Lee here?" Gaara asked, confused and uncertain when he didn't see the cat man rightaway.

"Yes! The little guy and I were just finishing a fishy dinner when I heard you knock."

Little guy?

Gaara's pale brows rose as he spotted a small, fluffy black cat appear around the corner of the hallway, tail flicking with delight as it approached on nimble little paws. Lee, now once again a small cat, was purring madly as he rubbed himself against Gaara's ankles with affection, stretching from his face to his tail. His black fur was fluffed proudly.

In a swift motion, Gaara scooped Lee up by the scruff of his neck and tucked him into an arm with a huff. Lee meowed in a disgruntled way, before squirming until he was comfortable. He began to purr again, flicking his tail across Gaara's chest and half closing his eyes with comfort as he lounged in the crook of Gaara's arm.

"Was he any trouble?" Gaara asked calmly, while his mind spun in circles.

"Not at all!" Gai assured, beaming at the cat with adoration. "He got some exercise by climbing some of my equipment, and took a few naps whenever he found a cozy spot in my home. He seemed like he was ready to nap again after his dinner, before we heard you knocking."

"Well... good, then. I guess I'll take him home." Gaara paused in bemusement before turning back to the door.

"He is welcome at my home anytime!" Gai called as Gaara walked down the hall to his own apartment again. Gaara paused when he heard Gai call abruptly, "Oh wait, before I forget!"

Gai disappeared into his home for a few seconds, before reappearing and bounding over to hand Gaara a couple pieces of clothing. It was the shirt and altered sweatpants Lee had been wearing this morning. There was also two new green pieces, a pair of skinny work-out pants and a shirt. "He might need these again."

Gaara's eyes widened, suddenly faced with proof that he hadn't been dreaming. He started to say something, but Gai had already gone back into his apartment, and the door was closed behind him.

* * *

"Alright, Cat," Gaara said tightly as he sat face to face with the small furball. Lee was sitting on Gaara's kitchen table, staring back into the redhead's eyes with a wide, curious gaze. His tail swished, and his ears were flicking. His little belly was full from fish at Gai's apartment, leaving him lazy and at ease in a very feline way, despite the glare Gaara had fixed on him.

Gaara sat at the table, frowning with thin, pursed lips as he considered the evidence, what he remembered, and the little pest sitting in front of him. "I don't know why you're a cat again, but I want some answers. Gai didn't give me any, so you're going to answer for yourself now. Transform!"

Lee stared, his curious gaze beginning to grow impassive, as though bored. His eyes stayed on Gaara politely, though he began to lick the back of his paw and groom his face.

"Dammit, Cat! Lee!" Gaara growled, already frustrated. This morning Lee had been big enough to shake his whole bed with one bouncing welcome, and now he was so small he would hardly rumple a pillow. It didn't make sense!

"I'm going to count to three, and at the end of my count I want you to be a man again," Gaara said slowly, in a tone that suggested Lee had better transform _or else_. "One..."

Lee stopped licking himself and yawned widely, stretching his long tongue and scrunching up his dark eyes.

"... two...

Lee stretched his front paws with leisure, then bounded down from the table onto Gaara's lap. The redhead jumped, but didn't protest as the cat propped himself up on Gaara's chest to rub his cheek against Gaara's jaw. The redhead glared silently, brooding.

"...three," he said firmly.

Lee stretched to lick the corner of Gaara's mouth.

Gaara jolted, eyes widening as it happened just like the first time.

The tiny body stretched and grew, almost sickening in its transformation. The little pink nose grew while the muzzle receded, furr shrank back into the skin while the arms and legs grew longer. The spine thickened and extended, while Lee's whiskers disappeared. The small weight in Gaara's lap grew heavier and heavier.

"Gaara," Lee purred when it was over. He was a full grown man again, naked as the day he was born, straddling Gaara's lap in the middle of the kitchen. He dragged his lips along Gaara's jawline, and rubbed their cheeks together with an inhuman purr. His tail wrapped around both their waists, making Gaara jolt as he felt the fur sliding along his skin.

"Lee," Gaara replied, a little more breathless than he would have liked. His cheeks were red, a bit overwhelmed despite himself. Not to mention that Lee was so high on his lap he could feel each globe of Lee's ass on his thighs.

"I like Gai. He made me clothes that are not uncomfortable. And he helped me walk on two legs today for a long time without falling." Lee's purring didn't stop even when he was talking, and the incisors of his teeth gleamed at the edges of his lips. He licked Gaara's chin with the wide flat of his tongue, making the redhead jump and grow redder. Gaara couldn't help noticing that Lee's tongue wasn't quite as rough as a cat's, but it wasn't quite soft like a human's either.

"That's- that's good. Stop licking me, I already told you." Gaara's voice managed to return to its usual calm, clipping tone. He pushed Lee's hips off his lap in attempt to stop all the affection before Lee noticed the uncomfortable bulge in Gaara's pants. The redhead was starting to get really frustrated with all this touching. Lee needed to stop! It was like Gaara was being constantly teased!

_Think of the cat version of him, not the fucking adult man with bronze abs and a fucking tail..._

Instead of standing, Lee slipped down onto the floor on his knees, wrapping his arms around Gaara's waist and pressing his cheek against the man's stomach. Gaara could feel the purr in Lee's throat, thrumming. He hesitated, then put a hand on the top of Lee's head. He dragged fingers through Lee's fluffy hair, tracing the base of his curious ears, and scratching around them the way he'd learned that Lee liked. The cat man smiled wider and looked up at Gaara with dark, vertical slit pupils. The redhead shivered, then pushed Lee's arms away and stood from the table.

"I have homework. I work on it in the living room. Come sit where I can see you." Gaara gathered up his books and folders, then strode into the living room. Lee stood and followed after, flicking his tail behind him as he watched Gaara with round eyes. After a pause and a thought, Lee turned back to grab the green outfit Gai had made for him.

* * *

The digital clock in the living room shined brightly, the numbers more clear now than the words across Gaara's school books. One o'clock, AM. Gaara sat on the carpet floor with his back propped against the couch, working at the coffee table. Lee was curled up on the cushions behind him, dozing comfortably. Gaara's vision was getting fuzzier with every passing moment, and there was a dull cotton sensation between his ears. He was on the verge of sleep.

_It's been so long since I've gotten some real rest_, Gaara thought. The words were muted and unclear even in his mind. _Just an hour... maybe two, if I'm lucky.._. His mental voice trailed away, and he found his cheek laying in his open book before he even realized it. He closed his eyes, and his breath became heavy.

* * *

A half hour later, Gaara was paying no attention to the clock. The redhead was standing up in the corner of his living room, his body limp and clumsy as he pushed buttons on his television remote. He flipped channels at random, changed something in the settings, and powered it on and off without once glancing at the screen.

The noise from the television woke Lee from his dozing, making him rise from the couch cushions with a quiet grumble. He stretched and yawned, raising his tail and perking his ears forward. Lee kneaded the couch fabric with his claws, before remembering that Gaara didn't want him doing that. He switched to the pillow Gaara had given him instead, settling back in his seat and watching the redhead with bemusement in his round eyes.

"Gaara? Is your homework done?" Lee asked, flicking his ears.

Gaara seemed to grow bored with the television remote after muting the current program. Instead of setting the remote on the coffee table, he simply let it drop to the floor and stepped over it. He fiddled with the lock on the window and pulled the glass open as far as he could. Gaara reached through as though he were trying to climb out, but was stopped by the bug screen. His eyes were open, but dull as if unseeing. Gaara didn't look when Lee addressed him. He started rifling through a box against the wall full of DVDs, as if looking for something. Disk cases dropped to the floor, while he slid a few DVDs behind the television. He stood.

"Gaara?" Lee asked again, perplexed. The cat man crawled off the couch and watched Gaara from the other side of the coffee table. Gaara didn't react, but began moving toward the kitchen with slow, clumsy legs.

Lee stretched his hand out and snagged Gaara's ankle, tripping him.

With a muffled grunt and a thump, Gaara fell onto the carpet almost bonelessly. He kicked his leg at Lee, his brow furrowed and eyes narrowed in a glare, but his gaze was unfocused.

Lee climbed on top of Gaara as the redhead rolled onto his back. Lee sat on Gaara's hips and pinned his shoulders to stop him from lashing out. Gaara managed to swing his fist up at Lee's face, but hit his shoulder instead. Lee growled, low and feline, and darted down to bite Gaara's neck until he submitted. His sharp incisors pinched Gaara's throat, but not hard enough to draw blood. Lee just wanted him to stop acting so erratic.

Instead of falling still or tensing up, Gaara's arms wound around Lee's torso, grabbing at the back of his green shirt and yanking him closer. Lee growled again, low in his throat with warning, ears flat on his head. The tip of his tail was flicking with irritation. His claws clutched at Gaara's shoulders, sharp like knife points.

"-tired of all the pancakes. Asshole, Naruto..." Gaara mumbled, his chest rising and falling harder with apparent confusion. He turned his face down into Lee's fluffy hair, sighing and tugging him closer. Gaara's fingers dragged down Lee's back, more gently than before. "... mm... good apples."

* * *

Gaara was laying on his kitchen floor the next morning, with the table upside down on top of him.

Lee was watching him with rapt attention from the corner of the room, crouching on his hands and feet, eyes wide and tail taught. He didn't say anything as Gaara's eyes blinked open, and the redhead tried to sit up with a groan.

"What did I do?" Gaara asked as he pushed the table away. It landed on the linoleum floor with a dull thunk of the wood.

"Are you normal now?" Lee asked, eyes round and cautious.

"Yes, I'm normal now." Gaara rubbed his face with both hands, exhausted. The dark circles around his eyes felt deep and heavy. He glanced at the clock on the stove. It was almost six AM. "What did I do?"

"You tried to climb the table when I did not want to play with you. You cannot climb well."

"Play? We were playing?" Gaara asked as he stood up and began to right the table.

"In a way." Lee's eyes slitted slyly. He stood and stalked off to the living room, tail tall and ears perked with mischief.

Gaara frowned as he watched Lee's retreat. He surveyed the damage in his kitchen and sighed miserably. He must have gotten around to opening some cabinets, because there were dishes everywhere. The big bag of flour that had been in the lower cabinet was half emptied into the sink, and the freezer half of his refrigerator was hanging open.

* * *

"You look like hell."

"Shut up." Gaara glared icicles at Naruto as they settled into chairs for class. Today their schedule only brought them together for one subject, and it was the last one of the day. Gaara knew he'd made it to his first classes, but he didn't remember what the teachers had covered. He was in a tired daze.

"Did you get_ any_ sleep last night?" Naruto demanded in a mild hush, his brows knitting in concern.

"A few hours. That's the problem," Gaara admitted with a sigh. He rubbed his chest, a habit when he felt unhappy or irritated.

"Oh, sleepwalking again?" Naruto realized, clucking his tongue and shaking his head like a disappointed hen-mother. Gaara didn't dignify his friend with a response.

"Hey, how about I stay at your place tonight!" Naruto suddenly declared with a grin.

"Why?"

"To help you sleep, of course! You can pass out, and if you start to get up and walk around I'll knock you back down again! It's brilliant!"

"That's just going to get us both injured," Gaara disagreed, frowning. "Do you even think about your words before you say things out loud?"

"Okay, that idea was lame," Naruto admitted, but didn't skip a beat. His expression shone. "We should still hang out tonight! I can bring one of my game consoles over to your place, and we can study together!"

"You won't want to study," Gaara pointed out. He nodded in agreement however. "That's acceptable, though. Bring the zombie game."

* * *

The front door to Gaara's apartment was open. The lock had been undone, and the doorway was cracked open by almost a foot. Alarm jumped in Gaara's limbs as he silently pushed the door wider and stepped inside. Setting his bag down without a rustle, he peered around the corners of his hallway with caution.

All the rooms were empty, and nothing had been stolen. Some places were still messy from sleepwalking in the night, but nothing out of place since the morning. Gaara frowned, confused, yet almost relieved before he remembered Lee.

"Lee?" he called, moving through the apartment again. He paused to listen, but didn't hear anything. A few minutes later, he was back in the hallway of the apartment building, wide eyed and panicked.

Lee was gone.

Gaara ran to Gai's door and knocked fiercely. The banging of his fist on wood was probably loud enough for the other neighbors to hear. "Mr. Might? Are you home?"

Gone. Probably at work today.

Gaara grit his teeth, eyes hard as he knocked on the other doors in the hallway. Some apartments were empty, and no one who answered their doors had seen a small black cat, or a tall man most likely dressed in green with a black bowl-style haircut. Gaara was trotting down the stairs to the first floor of the building to continue his search, when he was faced with his landlord.

Tsunade stood at the bottom of the steps with a hand on her hip, and an un-amused expression on her face. Her bosom looked like it was about to fall out of her shirt, as usual, and her breasts bounced when she sighed irritably at Gaara.

"Gaara," she said. "I could hear you downstairs. What are you doing?"

Gaara's expression became cool and impassive, but he felt frustration and annoyance rise up. He didn't have time to engage in tenant-landlord politics. He wondered if she'd started drinking or not already, today.

"I'm looking for someone," he said, moving to step around Tsunade with a tense politeness in his tone. She moved in his way and held up a hand. Her breasts swayed.

"Is there something you need to tell me? As your landlord, I need to know if I should expect any new comings and goings in the building." Her light eyes were hard and serious.

"Naruto is coming over tonight. He'll probably knock on your door to say hello," Gaara deadpanned, raising a brow and crossing his arms with the beginnings of impatience. He needed to find Lee before the stupid cat got hauled off to the pound or the church or a circus! Whichever!

"Will he?" Tsunade replied, a smirk briefly flickering across her face before she became serious again. "Is that all you have to tell me?"

"Miss Tsunade!" Shizune called from down the hall, appearing from the doorway of the landlord's apartment. She had her pig tucked under one arm, while something else was in the other. "Tonton is getting upset again by the kitty, and they won't-"

Gaara was there in an instant, taking Lee from Shizune's arm. He held the small cat against his chest, and breathed a sigh of relief. Lee curled against him and mewed, pawing at Gaara's hand in greeting.

"Recognize him?" Tsunade asked, raising a brow as she followed after the redhead. Her bosom rose and fell with each sharp step.

Gaara's expression was smooth and calm. "His name is Lee."

The landlord smacked a palm against her forehead, patience gone. "I don't care what his name is! I almost threw him in the back alley or called animal control! If you wanted to get a new pet you had to go through me _first_, before he trashes your apartment in _my_ building!"

"I didn't intend on adopting a pet," Gaara finally explained, exasperated but more willing to talk now that he knew where Lee was. The little pest squirmed until he was on his back in Gaara's arm, playing with the redhead's fingers over his chest. His little claws were sharp, but mostly retracted with play. He nibbled on Gaara's smallest knuckle when the redhead held still.

"I found him in the rain on Friday, without a collar. I was going to take him to a shelter, but I just... haven't felt like it."

Tsunade sighed, expression still irritated, but more understanding now. "I don't care if you want to keep him. Just get him a litter box, and do a better job of keeping him locked in your apartment. He was napping on a pile of green clothes in the corner of the hall where anyone could find him."

Gaara looked down at Lee with a thoughtful frown. That explained some things. It sounded like Lee had gotten out the front door as a man some time after Gaara had gone to school, then become a cat again. Gaara wondered if anyone had seen him before Tsunade.

Lee's eyes raised to meet Gaara's, round and almost black in color as he stared. He meowed and swatted at Gaara's chest.

"The clothes belong to me. He must have dragged them out somehow," Gaara intoned, looking back to Tsunade.

"Oh, I thought they belonged to Gai!" Shizune said, still holding her pig from the doorway. She went inside, and came back with a brown paper bag labeled 'Mr. Gai Might.' "I was going to return them when he came home. It looked like something he would wear."

"He gifted them," Gaara explained, accepting the bag. He boosted Lee higher on his chest for a better grip, closing one eye as the cat swatted at his chin with a mewl.

"You know, a cat might do you some good," Tsunade suggested abruptly, seeming to surprise herself. She put a finger on her chin with thought. "It'll be healthy. You never have visitors, and never go out with anyone. Naruto doesn't count."

Gaara only nodded, and started walking back to his apartment.

* * *

Back at the apartment, Gaara had finished cleaning his sleepwalking mess. Everything was back to its old order. Even the DVD's he'd scattered were back in the right cases, and alphabetized. Gaara sat down on his couch, and lifted Lee off the cushion onto his lap. Lee wiggled and swatted his paws like he wanted to play now that the redhead wasn't busy, but Gaara frowned and shook his head.

"We need to talk about what happened. You can't go wandering off like that again," he said. Lee stopped squirming and sat down, staring up at Gaara. His fur was fluffed out, and his tail was still for once. Gaara crossed his arms, feeling the beginning of an ache in his temples. "If someone else had found you, I might have never discovered what happened. People who find random cats usually assume rabies or disease before anything else. You could have been thrown back out into the rain again."

Lee meowed loudly in protest, patting his paw on Gaara's crossed arms.

"Even if you looked like a man when you went out, people would-"

"YOU GOT A CAT?!"

With a shocked yowl and ears flat, Lee scampered from Gaara's lap across the room. Naruto was standing in the hall entry outside the living room, staring in disbelief at Gaara, and the little black ball of fur that was hiding. Lee's eyes were wide as he watched Naruto in return, then darted to duck behind the couch. His tail was peeking around the corner, visible.

"I thought you didn't like cats!"

* * *

AN: Much thanks to everyone who's been reading so far! And thanks to razorwind124 from LiveJournal for being my beta on this chapter!


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